John Chow hosted a webinar a few days ago on the subject of buying and selling websites through the website marketplace Flippa. As most of you already know, Flippa started it’s like as a marketplace on SitePoint (arguably the most influential web development community over the last 10 years) before moving to its own domain at Flippa.com. Ironically, SitePoint have recently opened up a marketplace again.
The main interviewee is Matt Mickiewicz; co-founder of both SitePoint and Flippa. Zac Johnson Tyler Cruz, who I have both know through the world of blogging (cheesy but true!) also speak in the webinar.
If you have been buying and/or selling websites over the last few years then you won’t find out anything new however I’m sure you’ll enjoy the video nevertheless. Those who are new to website trading should make a point of viewing it as it’s a good introduction to it.
Current State of Flippa
I was an actively SitePoint member for a few years since around 2001. I was very active on the SitePoint marketplace from it’s launch and have made a few sales through Flippa too. My two biggest sales sold for a total of $100,000 but I’ve sold dozens of smaller websites too (particularly in the beginning). Therefore I feel I am in a position to commentate on the state of Flippa.
Without doubt, Flippa is massive. It is sure to be one of SitePoints main earners (the other being 99Designs) and from a business point of view it is very successful.
Unfortunately, from a user point of view it has got worse and worse over the last few years. The marketplace gets more and more listings every month however the vast majority of listings are for small websites which make no money.
It is still the best site to buy or sell a profitable website. There are filters to help you find larger websites though so few are sold there compared to lower end websites; which makes finding a bargain almost impossible. From a sellers point of view this is obviously ideal.
Selling websites at the lower end of the market is much more difficult as the market is saturated. Too many people are looking to flip turnkey websites with relatively few buyers. I have no interest in making money from selling to this end of the market as a business, however I have used Flippa (SitePoint) for years to sell websites that I no longer have time to use. I am unable to do so now because of the sheer volume of other listings. In my opinion, it isn’t worth selling cheaper websites there anymore.
If you are only looking to get a hundred dollars or so for a website you can’t update anymore, their fees represent a large chunk of your profit. A basic listing costs $19 however the listing gets no exposure unless you spend another $30 – $40 on upgrades to promote the listing. I chose not to upgrade my last listing and as a result my listing only got 64 views (and If I sold the site I would have had to pay an additional fee). This is not sour grapes but rather an indication that it isn’t worth selling websites under $500 on Flippa anymore as they don’t have the traffic or the buyers to justify the price. You’d be much better listing your site for sale on dozens of webmaster related forums instead.
I do believe that it is in Flippas best interests to rectify this issue. Flippa are always boasting about the large sales which are made through their marketplace but the truth is the matter is the majority of listings end with no sale and frequently no bids either. They still get at least $19 from every listing so perhaps they don’t care. I have no doubt that many websites don’t sell as they offer no value or are way overpriced however if they continue to offer no return to the lower end of the market, the sellers will go elsewhere.
I’d love to hear your opinion on the Flippa marketplace? Do you use it as a seller or a buyer or both? Do you think the service suffers from the sheer volume of listings?
Thanks for reading 
Kevin
I bought a couple websites from sitepoint when i was first starting out. I found it useful at the time as i did not know how to build a website. But more recently I have been looking for a good higher end investment and have yet to see anything that fits the bill. The quality of website available is poor, and this appears to be even more so for the lower end websites. If you keep a constant eye on the site though you will eventually see something worth money to you (I continue to hope).
I’ve not used it but I did try to sell one of my little developed websites that was in Google at number one.
I emailed people bidding on that keyword with Adwords but no one bit.
I saw that in your monthly roundup for March. I love that feature on your blog.
Not everyone would feel totally comfortable offering the information you do, but its definitely interesting to readers.
I do think you are too hard on yourself though!
@Sam – Good sites do come up from time to time however as they are so few and far between, you will find it difficult to get a bargain. Though it’s possible to get a decent price if you are thinking long term.
@Joe – That’s a good technique that sometimes pays off. Perhaps you were just unlucky.
I think my main problem is that i am very particular on the type of website I want to buy (and the price of course).
You build a website and any income is profit, but if you buy it there is a significant risk of loss – one I’m not 100% sure that I’m comfortable with (unless I’m sure I can improve the income considerably)